Review Summary: All in all, I think this album is a classic and should be a part of every melodic-hardcore fan’s collection. The band is full of true, passionate artists whom I love and respect.
The first time I saw Defeater was in early 2010 shortly after the release of Lost Ground. My friend’s band played with them in this little barn in North-East Alabama. They were already pretty popular and I expected the show to be somewhat bigger but, given the venue and the location, only about forty people showed up. It still took a little work to pile everyone into that barn though. I expected Defeater to be a little upset given the fact that they played a lot of shows on that tour to hundreds of people, but they pushed all of that aside and played one of the most heartfelt shows I have ever seen. I remember this one kid walked up to Derek (Vocals) after the show and was thanking him, telling him how much the music connected with him personally and Derek started tearing up a little bit. (It probably sounds like a cliché emotional music anecdote, but it was really cool to me to see a band respond that way to their fans.)
The guys in that band honestly and sincerely put their whole heart into their music and Lost Ground is no exception. The album tells the story of a man who fights in World War II. Upon returning to the U.S. he is treated like trash and ultimately ends up being a beggar.
Derek’s vocals are raw. You can feel his emotion. The bass tone is dirty and heavy.
The guitar lines are beautiful, more melodic than traditional hardcore. I wouldn’t say that they’re catchy, but they definitely add even more emotion to the recordings. Another aspect of Defeater’s song-writing that I think sets them apart from other melodic-hardcore bands is how dynamic their songs are rhythmically. I love the beginning of “A Wound and Scar” when they start off with a snare line that sounds like it’s out of a military ceremony. It really helps to illustrate the lyrics, which describe the soldier (main character) having to bury his friends who died at war. All of the songs on Lost Ground have intense drumming that is complex, but in a non-mathy way that stays cohesive with the atmosphere of the album.
All in all, I think this album is a classic and should be a part of every melodic-hardcore fan’s collection. The band is full of true, passionate artists whom I love and respect.
